New Jersey Y Employee Tests Positive for MRSA

Middletown, Nj — A part-time administrative employee at the Community YMCA's Red Bank Family Health and Fitness Center in Red Bank, NJ, tested positive for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), according to a statement from the Y.

In response, the Y is following the recommendations for preventing the spread of MRSA from the local health department, the Centers for Disease Control and the YMCA of the USA Medical Advisory Committee. The Y will remain open, but the infected employee is not working there.

In the statement, the Community YMCA says, “Although environment (facilities, equipment, etc.) has not played a significant role in the transmission of MRSA in the outbreaks documented to date, our management staff is alert to the MRSA cases that have been reported across the country, and we are taking appropriate action in response at our facility.”

The Y provides hand sanitizers throughout its facility, towels to wipe down equipment and instructions on how to prevent the transmission of MRSA. Y staff training curriculum includes simple ways to minimize and control the risk factors associated with transmission, including skin-to-skin contact, openings in the skin such as cuts or abrasions, and contaminated items and surfaces, according to the statement.

MRSA outbreaks are becoming more common. Recently, student recreation centers began taking precautions to help stop the spread of MRSA. Fairleigh Dickinson University (NJ) installed hand sanitizer dispensers throughout campus after a student there was diagnosed with MRSA in September. After a staph infection case was reported at Centenary College in Hackettstown, NJ, the college disinfected its student recreation center and weight room, and towels were discarded.

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